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3 Examples of Effective Crowdsource Marketing

Crowdsource Marketing asks consumers to contribute to a marketing initiave in exchange for a reward given directly from the brand.  The collective interest it gathers can increase brand awareness, brand interaction, and sales. Brands spend enormous amounts of money to get people to like them, but with crowdsourcing your marketing can allow consumers to tell you exactly what will make them fans of your brand, which will create much more word of mouth promotion than any other marketing channel.

 

Red Bull's Launchpadasks people to submit videos of a cool idea that you would like to have given wings.  If Red Bull likes your idea enough, they will pay to make it happen.  

Not sure if I like that idea as much as the others, but here's another example. 

The Pepsi Refresh Project offers grants to people trying to refresh something in the world.  The catagorizes they offer are Arts & Music, Education, Communities, and Pepsi Challenges.  Each idea can get up to $50,000, and lasts one year.


The Google 10^100 Project offered funding to any idea that helps the most people possible.  Since 2008, Google funded ideas included:

Do you have any examples crowdsource marketing that you think were effective?

1. Deliver A Kick Ass Product 2. Be Honest

What comes to mind when people think of you or your company?  Whatever the perception is - that's your brand. 

Do your customers just buy from you or do they brag about you to friends?  The sum of the experience a customer receives and the perception of your company equals your brand.

In the era of social media it is virtually impossible for companies not to be transparent.  If you say you are the fastest, cheapest, most efficient, most creative or simply the best then you better be or the public will expose you as a fraud.  This is GREAT for authentic companies who truly are innovative leaders in their market because it means exposing those who claim to be on their level, when in reality they are nowhere close.

Let’s say for example you have a plumbing business that markets itself as professional, clean, reliable and affordable.  Up to this point you’ve been in the fortunate position of being able to outspend your competition and stay in front of the local market, presenting yourself as the leader.   If you or your crew shows up without a uniform look, smoking and a few minutes late then you’re in trouble. 

Years ago you may have frustrated one customer who would, on average, tell 10 friends.  Today you can multiply that by 1000 along with photos, blogs, tweets, facebook and text messaging.  The real market leader may have been unable to compete because of a lack of cash, but now all it takes is a few key evangelists to praise their work and the entire market wakes up to the realization the best company, the authentic leader, has been hiding in plain site!  The game has changed.  Authenticity is king.

In a great article written by Jamie Monberg on the Fastcompany site he lays out a great argument stating “authenticity is king because branding bores everyone”.  In his article he states “you no longer need to capture your audience” because people are now willfully engaging online. 

My favorite part of the piece is one I am kicking myself for not coming up with.  Jamie lays out “the new conditions for brand success” as simply:

1. Deliver a kick-ass product.
2. Be honest.

I don’t think it can be stated in a more authentic fashion.